Vorarbeiten zu einer Königsliste Kaukasisch-Iberiens. 5. Im Schatten Schapurs II

Abstract

Prolegomena to a King List of Caucasian Iberia 5. In Shapur II’s Shadow

During the seventy years of the reign of the Persian king Shapur II (A.D. 309–379), we know of several generations of Iberian royals. One such Iberian royal was Meribanes, who in 361 emperor Constantius II tried to prevent from establishing an alliance with Persia. In scholarship, he is commonly identified with (St.) Mirian (Iranian, Mihran), the first Christian king of Iberia and founder of the so-called Chosroid dynasty. The Chosroids were a branch of the Mihranid princely family, one of the great aristocratic houses of Iran and distant relatives of the Sasanians. Although Meribanes and Mirian were supposedly contemporaries, Mirian is now regarded as a mere figure of legend and not history. In the late 360s, Meribanes’ successor Sauromaces became embroiled in an attempted coup to overthrow him by his cousin, the pro-Persian Aspacures. The result was that Aspacures, who is not to be confused with „Varaz-Bakur“ or „Aspa(u)rukh,“ agreed to a partition of the kingdom along the river Cyrus. The agreement, however, only lasted for several years, when in c. 377/8 the aged Shapur II decided to conquer the whole of Iberia for Aspacures. In the course of Shapur’s campaign, Sauromaces probably perished and his cousin ascended the throne to rule reunited Iberia under Persian overlordship. Aspacures had a son called Ultra („beyond“), according to Ammianus Marcellinus, but in all likelihood his name was closer to *Peranius. He lived as a hostage at the Persian court and may have succeeded his father some years later.